Nearmap Aerial Imagery Improves Stormwater Billing and Increases Revenue for Carmel, Indiana

Nearmap, a location content provider, has partnered with the fast-growing city of Carmel, Indiana, helping it improve its stormwater billing process, resulting in the collection of about $60,000 in unclaimed revenue. Carmel turned to Nearmap to provide high-quality aerial images that are frequently updated to integrate with its existing applications, including ArcMap and ArcGIS.

The city’s Engineering Department uses the high-resolution imagery to aid in data accuracy, verify customer claims, educate developers, enforce compliance and prepare presentations for internal government meetings. Nearmap has also proven invaluable with constituent problem solving.

Through impervious surface digitization and internal audits, the Carmel Engineering Department has collected $60,000 in revenue from 2015 through 2017. “When searching for a GIS solution, we wanted a service that paid for itself,” said Shane Burnham, GIS technician for Carmel. “We have found that in Nearmap. At this point, I can’t imagine working without it.”

The city is in the middle of an aggressive, four-year, $300 million-plus concentrated infrastructure improvement program that includes new roundabouts, intersections, interchanges, and stormwater management and drainage projects.

“Nearmap imagery keeps up with our fast-growing area, and we see progress in real-time at a 3-inch resolution. We measure and bill with confidence knowing that we have accurate and clear infrastructure information. We are no longer referencing imagery that is two years old,” said John Thomas, the stormwater administrator for Carmel.

Before Nearmap, the department lacked an up-to-date, high-resolution base map for its data platforms. They used low-quality aerials taken once annually at a 6-inch resolution provided by the county. By the time the imagery was processed and delivered six to eight months after capture, it was a year and a half out of date and didn’t represent new developments in the city. Because of this lag in the process, it was impossible to calculate stormwater billing fees for new developments, which meant a loss in revenue.

Because of the success of Nearmap in the Engineering Department, other departments are taking notice and are finding ways to use Nearmap. The team sees potential uses in planning, zoning, code enforcement and maintenance, among other possibilities. “We keep finding new ways to use Nearmap imagery,” said Thomas. “When we show people what we’re doing with Nearmap, they immediately ask, ‘Why don’t we have this?’”

 

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